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Summary

This best-selling reader on families and intimate relationships identifies the most current trends and places them in historical context. New topics include: changing family demographic over the course of U.S. history, why gay men and women want to marry, the decline of dating and the rise of hooking up, adoption past and present, how a 24/7 ecomomy affects families, financial pressures on middle-class mothers and fathers, gay and lesbian families, and the families of prison inmates.Anyone looking for a collection of classic and contemporary readings on the sociology of the family.

Table of Contents

Preface

p. ix

Introduction

p. 1

The Changing Family

p. 11

Families Past and Present

p. 13

The Theoretical Importance of the Family

p. 13

The Global Revolution in Family and Personal Life

p. 25

The Life Course Revolution

p. 31

The Family in Trouble: Since When? For Whom?

p. 40

Public Debates and Private Lives

p. 57

The Mommy Wars: Ambivalence, Ideological Work, and the Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood